4 The Capital City

"What do you think?" Dani asks, smiling with anticipation.

Tyler thinks for a minute, there is a lot to process. Having just reached the main plaza of the city, Tyler looks around the crowded square in bewilderment. Everything is colorful and moving. Buildings are purple, orange, blue, and green. Colored smoke pours out of chimneys, windows, and cars like they are crushing crayons; tie-dye haze fills the air.

Cars are speeding past in eight lanes of traffic, but the road is only two lanes wide with four vertically-stacked segments. Drivers shift up and down in floating vehicles seamlessly.

People also walk among crowded streets in stacks of four. Pedestrians over Tyler's head stroll as casually as he does on the ground. Vendors push carts around the square loaded with wares ranging from perfume to food. Tyler watches four competing clothe merchants stack their carts on top of each other and haggle about price to a sea of customers.

"It's... crowded," Tyler responds.

"That's all you have to say?"

Crowds scatter as a clay golem two stories tall saunters through the square.

"I've never seen anything like it... but there are people and smoke everywhere."

"My Lady," Moko says as he steps forward to join the conversation. "When I picked up Tyler, he appeared to be living in the boonies. There were hardly any people and no magical exhaust. He might be more comfortable in the palace gardens."

"Actually, I live in a big city. This is just... chaos," Tyler corrects the large, bearded man.

"Well, I suppose magical exhaust is a foreign concept to someone without magic. It is just visible physic energy dissipating, usually from magically-powered devices," Dani explains. "Nothing like smoke, which can be dangerous if inhaled. As for the crowds, it's peak market hours. We can head to a less crowded part of the city if you would prefer that."

"It might be good..." Tyler notices a stall with men in chains for sale. "What is that?"

"Slavers, they sell prisoners of war so Qaplurg doesn't have to jail or execute them."

"And you called me a barbarian!"

"What do you think we should do with criminals? We can't afford to keep them in cages, which I find more barbaric anyway, and executing them sounds worse."

"I don't know... it just seems wrong."

"Perhaps it is, but we make a profit and can account for every prisoner. They get housed and fed. Owners get cheap labor, compared to hiring a golem. Everybody wins."

"Right..."

"Oh, I know what you will like! Follow me!" Dani drags Tyler away from the market by the hand, half running and half skipping down the street.

Tyler isn't released for several blocks. Jogging to keep up with his guide, he turns a corner and slams into her as she stops at a vendor. This one is separate from the others, standing alone in front of a vacant lot.

"What is this place?" Tyler asks, looking over the barren space.

"You will see?" Dani squeaks. She hands an elderly lady behind the counter a few coins and tugs at Tyler's arm again. "Come on!"

Once the two of them are in the center of the field, the capital disappears. Concerned, Tyler checks every direction for something familiar. There is nothing. Just the empty lot.

Suddenly, the cement they are on begins to crack and plants sprout between the broken slabs of concrete. In a matter of minutes, nature reclaims the plot. Dani laughs and twirls amidst flowers of every color in an open field. Some are familiar, like a rose bush, but others are exotic neon-colored varieties he has never seen.

"What is happening?" Tyler asks. Panic has not set in, since Dani seems extremely calm, but he shuffles uncomfortably as grass grows knee high around him. "Where are we?"

"We haven't left the capital; a better question is when are we!"

"When?"

"Miss Amaryllis can control the flow of time in this lot. She sends it forward so that the field can blossom into a garden!"

"Wait, we are in the future? Aren't there better things to do here than walk in a field?"

"Just the field is in the future, and it is a future where nothing is accelerated but the plant growth. Magic can't do everything, predicting the future can only be done if you make certain assumptions."

"Oh, so of all the possible futures, this is the one where Miss Amaryllis just lets the field get overgrown with flowers? What is happening with the rest of the world?"

"The rest of the world isn't here. You could fall off the edge of the garden if you wanted."

"So, it's just nothing?"

"Not nothing, everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes. Think of it this way, if you were to draw a picture of the future, that accounted for every possible scenario, you would end up drawing so many pictures that the paper is stained black. That black sheet of paper is what surrounds this lot."

Tyler stares into the void surrounding them again. Different shapes and outlines are vaguely visible, but like Dani said, he can not make out anything specific. His eyes begin to sting from trying to make sense of the superimposed images, so he turns his attention to the garden.

Flowers bloom, wither, die, and bloom again. Each cycle brings about more unique and beautiful flowers. Dani leans against Tyler and smiles, enjoying the ever changing garden.

"This is one of the less practical uses of magic, but I like it," Dani explains. "We have used magic like this to try to predict the future, but the results varied. Still, magic holds limitless possibilities. Banning it in your realm was a mistake, but I'll teach you how to use it."

As soon as she finishes speaking, the garden snaps back to the present. Noise, buildings, and magic exhaust come into focus around the lot. Dani sighs and continues to lean against Tyler, who blushes as he looks down at her head resting on his chest.

"Princess, we need to go," Moko hisses from behind them.

"You are right, Moko, there is so much more to see today," Dani replies. She stands up straight and winks at Tyler.

Moments later, Moko jumps between Tyler and Dani, catching a boulder hurtling towards the Princesses head. "Perhaps next time, My Lady," Moko says through gritted teeth. He stares up at the roof of the closest building where three men in grey hooded-cloaks are staring down at them.

That is when Tyler notices that the street is empty. There is not a single person, car, or golem in sight. Looking back up, Tyler feels uneasy about the three men glaring back. A symbol that looks like two snakes wrapped around a dagger is on each of their shoulders.

"One is an elementalist," Dani whispers, eyes focused on the rooftop.

"What's happening?" Tyler whimpers, hoping he is misunderstanding something.

"They are all going to be tough... damn Serpents," Moko spits.

"Can you handle two?" Dani asks, looking to Moko.

"I can try." As he talks, he pulls a small dowel rod from his pocket. Closing his eyes, he mutters something under his breath. Growing at an alarming rate, the rod turns into a seven-foot Bo Staff.

"Tyler," Dani coos.

"Yes?"

"Don't die."

As if on cue, their assailants leap from the building and pull ceremonial daggers from their cloaks. All of them converge on Dani's location, but she disappears before they can reach her.

Moko intercepts all three, swinging his bo staff without moving. One end of the staff extends to sweep their attackers out of the air. With a thud, the staff slams into the side of the building they were standing in moments before.

From the cloud of dust, all three hooded-figures emerge. They surround Moko, who stares down each of them in turn. Before any of them move, Dani reappears behind one and sends him reeling with a kick.

Another turns to attack Dani from behind, but Moko dashes in front of him. The remaining hood turns toward Tyler. Unsure of what to do, Tyler freezes like a deer in headlights. His attacker takes the opening to charge.

Lightning forms at the tip of the blade, shooting sparks and extending the length of the dagger. Fifty feet shrinks to twenty before Tyler reacts; he stares at the tip of the lightning-shrouded dagger with cold sweat pouring down his back. Ten feet, that is all the space he has to do something to prolong his life.

If only there was something to hide behind, he thinks. A wall between Tyler and that knife would make him feel better. His eyes dart around; in order to shield himself he would have to lift the concrete slabs of the empty lot itself.

Run, he thinks as the hooded man brings the dagger up to strike. There isn't time, so Tyler throws his hands up in a desperate attempt to shield himself. He knows he is dead, but after a moment with his eyes closed, nothing happens.

Opening his eyes, Tyler sees the dagger inches from his face and falls backwards. The blade is stuck in a wall that is formed from two slabs of concrete from the lot. They are folded up from the ground to form a four inch barrier that stopped the dagger and shorted the lighting.

Tyler scrambles to his feet; however, his victory is short-lived. Before he can take two steps, the entire wall is lifted up and thrown behind him to cut off his escape.

Fire forms in the palm of the elementalist's hand. Heat from the flames lick Tyler's face, making him feel like he was already melting. As the hooded figure lifts his hand, Tyler prepares to die a second time.

Flames scatter in every direction when a seven foot wooden pole flies into the palm of Tyler's attacker. Tyler is singed but alive; meanwhile, Moko slides in front of him as a human shield. A giant hand palms the staff and glides it into position.

Blood stains Moko's shirt from a deep gash across his left shoulder, and his right sleeve has several holes burned through it. He growls at the hooded man.

In response, the assailant glances over his shoulder to where his comrade lays face-down on the pavement. Moko lunges forward, but his target leaps back to his fallen partner. Shaking the entire lot, the slab of concrete below them breaks free of the ground and catapults through the air. Just like that, both of their opponents are gone.

"I'm glad you are alive," Moko grunts, leaning against his staff.

"Me too... are you alright?" Tyler manages to say.

"Ehh, I've had worse."

"I thought you didn't know how to use magic," Dani shrieks from behind Tyler, making him jump in alarm.

"Jesus! Where did you come from?" Tyler shouts.

"Over there," Dani nods towards the far end of the lot. "Now, since when could you use magic?"

"I didn't use magic, and you didn't come from that way!" Tyler's nerves cause him to continue to shout, but Dani doesn't seem to notice.

"I used my magic to manipulate space. That freak in a hood is a mile outside the capitol city, and I came here to find you using magic."

"I didn't use magic!" This time Tyler screams it.

Dani pauses for a moment and sighs. "This wall, where did it come from?"

"I... don't know..."

"Construction magic is not that common. It can't create anything out of magic alone; however, if the right materials are present it can make anything."

"Princess," Moko interrupts. "Before we teach our guest a course on the basics of magic, shouldn't we get you somewhere safe?"